September 27, 2009

Ozzie goes off, Take #2

“Listen, I have [Alexei] Ramirez, Carlos Quentin, Gordon Beckham, and I got [Chris] Getz. I have [Tyler] Flowers. I have seven or eight kids, and the problem we have in baseball is that the people who run this thing, they let players do whatever they want to do, and that’s why they do whatever they want to do. My job is to teach those kids that it is not the way to do it. I never tell my players what to do or how to prepare yourself, but when you lose a game and all of a sudden you look around and they are watching another thing, that means you are teaching the kids, ‘Don’t worry about it, this is the big leagues. If we lose a game, who cares? We are out of the pennant race. I have to teach these kids it’s not the way we should handle this stuff. If I let that thing go away, then I don’t have the power and the right to tell the kids in the future what to do because it was like, ‘Well, two years ago, you let them do it. … Watching a football game? I never said anything about watching a football game. When you’re stupid, pick who’s going to win this week, who’s not. I don’t get involved with that because I respect that. But when you lose a game and you were embarrassed by the other ballclub, to me, I don’t care who’s there. That’s the way it’s going to be. If nobody wants to play for me, so be it. Whoever plays for me, he’s going to respect this game. He’s going to go about the business the right way, and I don’t think last night was the right way to show me about the way we go about our business. As soon as the game’s over they’re worried about who’s winning in college, who’s the best quarterback. Who [cares]? Respect the game, respect your teammates, respect people paying. It’s not only this clubhouse, every clubhouse in baseball. That’s my problem. I don’t have a problem with the players, I’ve got a problem with baseball and baseball doesn’t handle it the right way. My plan is to see those kids grow up and manage the White Sox for a little while. Believe me, anyone who is going to play for this organization, they are going to learn how to be a professional and how to handle things the right way. I see it around the game, players do whatever they want to do. Maybe I made mistakes I didn’t even know about as a player. But all the problems we have in the game are because we don’t have people to step up and say it and do it, and that’s not the way. Believe me. I grew up a different way. I grew up. When you lose, it hurts. You are embarrassed. That taught me the respect for the game.”